Homeowner, 80, charged in shooting of burglar: 'Unjust that I can't protect me'

An 80-year-old tavern owner in Englewood believes it's "unjust" that he is facing charges after shooting a burglar, but believes he will prevail in court.

"It's wrong," Homer "Tank" Wright said as he walked into his bar after being released from jail this afternoon. "Unjust that I can't protect me."

Awakened by his 75-year-old wife, Wright confronted a 19-year-old burglar who had broken through some plywood over a bathroom window in hopes of stealing liquor, according to police. Wright grabbed his 38.caliber pistol, loaded with four rounds, and shot the intruder in the leg.

The suspect was arrested -- but so was Wright. Because of prior weapons convictions, Wright was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, sparking calls by his family and neighbors for prosecutors to back down.

"If somebody breaks into a place where they are not supposed to be, I bet something will happen," Wright said, adding that he was angry about the arrest. "That's wrong."

The Army veteran said his wife woke him about 4 a.m.at their home on the 6400 block of South Morgan Street because she heard noise in the bathroom. When he got there, he said he saw a shadow fleeing. A few hours later, they heard more noise and this time he saw the intruder and shot him, Wright said.

The teen crawled back out the bathroom window and ran off but collapsed down the alley, where police and paramedics found the teen, Wright said.

Wright said his bar has been broken into four to six times, and he and his wife had started staying overnight at the property to protect it. "This is our living," he said, adding that he has had triple bypass surgery. "I'm going to be here. I'm not leaving. This is where I'm planning to stay."

Anthony Robinson, of the 6000 block of South Wood Street, was charged with felony burglary after he was treated at St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center and released. Wearing a white-and-blue hospital gown and his left hand wrapped in a bandage, Robinson limped into bond court this afternoon and was ordered held on $150,000 bond.

Wright was charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon after police discovered he had two prior weapons convictions from 1968 and 1994, officials said. Records show Wright also was convicted of theft in 1990. In the 1990 and 1994 cases, Wright got probation.

Wright clutched a tan baseball hat as he appeared in court dressed in a blue- and white-striped polo shirt and khaki pants.The judge ordered him released on his own recognizance, and he walked out of the courthouse at about 2:15 p.m. with his court-appointed attorney, Assistant Public Defender Anand Sundaram.

Several of Wright's relatives cheered in the gallery after the judge ordered him released, drawing a rebuke from deputies.

After the hearing, Wright's grandson Courtney Cook said his grandfather has the right to protect his home and the tavern he has run for 40 years.

"You have to look at what's right and what's wrong in that situation," he said. "He's supposed to protect his home and his family. I mean, you know, is he supposed to be the victim? I mean, you know, just let it keep happening? If it's going to keep happening, then where's the law? What good is the law?

"Everybody makes mistakes, but everybody is not supposed to be pushed around and let everybody do what they want to do to them."

On his South Side block, Wright is known as a hard-working neighbor who runs a bar that has become a neighborhood institution. Known as "Tank," Wright has operated the bar next to his home for more than 40 years, neighbors said.

"He doesn't fiddle around and he's strictly business," said Delmar Dunn, who operates a barber shop across the street from the bar. "He tries to keep order and he tolerates no foolishness. He's not an aggressive man, so I'm surprised he shot. He must have been pretty afraid or concerned for his own safety."

Anita Dominique, head of the block club in the neighborhood, said she has known Wright for more than 30 years. "He is a pillar of our community,” she said. “What does it say to me and other senior citizens that we will be arrested if we defend ourselves?"

Neighbors held a news conference this morning to call on prosecutors to drop the charges.

"If a man can't defend himself from harm, what can he do?" asked Darryl Smith. "If he hadn't defended himself, we would be here for a different reason -- because an intruder came in and killed him.

"We're outraged as a community and we're calling for the state's attorney's office to drop the charges," he added. "This man has done nothing wrong."

Smith said police and prosecutors should have found a way to avoid charging Wright. "Just take the gun," Smith said.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at an unrelated news conference, Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to talk about Wright's arrest. "I cannot comment on it in the middle of an investigation. It would be inappropriate," he said.
Chicago Tribune

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